What we love…

bright colorful graphics that engaged my son and answered many of his “how was this made” and “can you tell me about how a lightbulb was invented”

What we’d love to see…

Different parental gate, ability to time travel by period rather than just tapping on the clock as well as the ability to see what happens to an item over time (evolving)

Summary

Great animation, educational app that helps children answer many of the – “Can you help me understand” questions

Our Rating

The Great Inventors by Dream Made is a universal app for iOS which helps you as a parent answer many of the questions that your children might have. Questions that you can answer in the app include: who invented the radio, when was the light bulb invented and more. The app features three scenes that allow you to travel to different times as well as three mini games to test your knowledge after using the app. Within the app. there is a question mark you can tap on within each of the scenes which pops up a description of the item as well as reading it to you. The question marks also appear on different individuals like Benjamin Franklin and tells the story of how he invented the lightening rod to prevent damage and fires. The narration within the app is available in English, German, Italian.

As a parent of a child in kindergarten, I find myself constantly answering questions like, why do we travel in cars now versus carriages or who invented this? This app is the perfect answer to that in an interactive fun way that will have children engaged and learning from the moment they begin to play. The app also includes three different mini games, one focuses on matching (via flipping memory cards), the second focuses on on patterning (you see a sequencing and it have to add the next card in the sequence) and the third game has you matching an inventor to an item such as Ben Franklin to the lightening rod and Daguree to the camera.

The app provides three different scenes – all of which allow for “time travel” between them by tapping on a clock. When you tap on it it moves you a different period in history – and includes animations such as a horse drawn carriage and a hot air baloon. In the next scene you see airplanes flying, a cotton mill in one era and then in the third scene you see a car driving, rocket blasting off, motorcycle running, and the invention of the telephone. It was interesting for my son to realize how the items changed over time especially the telephone from a large device to a small smart phone like my iPhone that has a touch screen.

I loved how the app appropriately illustrated different items from history including a camera, light bulb, and also how it allowed you to travel through time while tapping on different items (like a car) to learn more about it such as Karl Benz inventing a car. The language to describe each of the inventions was easy enough for a child to understand and navigate. The illustrations were bright and each of the items was easy to see and then provided the opportunity for me to talk to my son about how items evolved over time such as a car and a light bulb.

In terms of enhancements, I would like to see the parental gate enhanced so it pulls you to a separate screen rather than directly into iTunes. I did like that the gate was difficult enough that most children wouldn’t immediately be able to answer the question. I would also like the ability to set language behind a parental gate rather than changing it on the fly within the app. I would also like to be able to tap on the clock to pick which scene I went to rather than having to go through them in a step by step sequence. I would also love to see in a future version after an item was invented – what happened in the next era. When the light bulb was invented for example how has that evolved and changed over time?

This app contains a parental gate which when a multiplication math problem is solved pulls you directly into iTunes for another app that is made by the same developer, in app purchases or advertising.

Overall, I felt this app had great animation, was bright and educational for children and helped answer many of the “how was this invented” or “why do we have” questions that my son asked me. This app is best suited to early to mid grade school and was fun, interactive and educational all at the same time. My son enjoyed the learning games and told his teacher about how the lightbulb was invented.

Alison, the American iMum is from Massachusetts. She lives there with her two sons and husband. In their spare time, they enjoy playing outside, enjoying nature and of course testing apps and fantastic products on their devices. My older son loves technology and loves testing out the “latest and newest” apps and tech. I love sharing information about apps and products with others to help them make decisions without feeling overwhelmed with all of the choices.

1 Comment

Links

Amazon

Archives

Archives

As seen in…

The iMums is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to The iMums (amazon.com)

Meet the iMums

The iMums - Amanda, Alison, Mary and Grace - are four mothers from different parts of the world dedicated to informing parents about the best digital stories, educational apps, fun games and technology products available for their children. We also offer the latest news in apps for kids, interesting articles, developer interviews, free apps and regular giveaways! Read more.

Disclosures

Some of the posts on our site may contain affiliate links which help to defray the costs of running the site. These may be affiliate links and a small portion of your purchase will help to support The iMums.

Connect with Us

Blog Subscription

If you never want to miss a post by The iMums, simply subscribe to our blog to receive your daily digest. By signing up for our digest you are confirming that you wish to share your name and email with Feedburner as well as The iMums. Sign up here!